Loretta Lynn Says She Believes Country Music Is 'Dead': 'I Think It's a Shame to Let It Die'
Loretta Lynn is not shying away from sharing her opinions about today’s country music.
During a recent interview on Martina McBride‘s podcast Vocal Point with Martina McBride, available on Luminary, the country legend pronounced the genre “dead,” adding that “we should never let country music die.”
“They’ve already let it [die],” Lynn, 87, told McBride. “I think it’s dead. I think it’s a shame. I think it’s a shame to let a type of music die. I don’t care what any kind of music it is. Rock, country, whatever. I think it’s a shame to let it die, and I’m here to start feeding it.”
When McBride, 53, noted that Lynn seemed “mad” about it, Lynn replied: “Yeah. I’m getting mad about it. I am. Because it’s ridiculous.”
“I’m not happy at all,” the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” singer said. “I think that they’re completely losing it. And I think that’s a sad situation because we should never let country music die. I think that every type of music should be saved, and country is one of the greatest. It’s been around, as far as I’m concerned, longer than any of it.”
Later in the podcast, Lynn answered McBride’s question about what she is “the most proud of” in her life.
“My kids,” the country singer responded. “I couldn’t be more proud of my kids. I love my kids so much. That’s my whole life. My life is my kids, and then my music.”
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Lynn has dealt with several health issues in recent years, including a May 2017 stroke followed by a January 2018 fall that broke her hip. The country star also shot down reports that she was on her deathbed last summer.
Though she was forced her to leave her Hurricane Mills, Tennessee, ranch for a home closer to her doctors in Nashville, “I wasn’t goin’ to let it stop me,” she told PEOPLE in 2018.
“People thought I wouldn’t come back from that,” Lynn continued. “And they’re really shocked when I tell them, ‘Well, I’m doing good, I’m moving my arms, I’m moving all my parts and I can still sing.’”
Last year, McBride was in attendance at Lynn’s star-studded 87th birthday celebration. McBride, Garth Brooks and Miranda Lambert, among others, performed at the tribute concert, which also featured Keith Urban jumping out of a giant cake to surprise Lynn.
